Posted
by
samzenpus
on Friday September 25, 2015 @12:18PM
from the don't-unfriend-me-bro dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Unfriending employees on Facebook and not saying good morning could constitute workplace bullying, an Australian workplace tribunal has ruled. Australia's Fair Work Commission decided that administrator Lisa Bird had bullied real estate agent Rachael Roberts after unfriending her from Facebook. The commission's deputy president Nicole Wells said the act showed a "lack of emotional maturity" and was "indicative of unreasonable behavior."

"The Fair Work Commission didn't find that unfriending someone on Facebook constitutes workplace bullying," Josh Bornstein, a lawyer at the firm Maurice Blackburn, told ABC News."What the Fair Work Commission did find is that a pattern of unreasonable behaviour, hostile behaviour, belittling behaviour over about a two-year period, which featured a range of different behaviours including berating, excluding and so on, constituted a workplace bullying."

More or less, unfriending someone, in and of itself, is not bullying, nor was that the ruling. The unfriending that happened in this case was merely an example of hostile or otherwise unfriendly behavior aimed at the plaintiff by the defendant. Even so, none of the examples of "belittling behavior" strike me as significant enough to involve the court system. The very notion that the courts are being called in to resolve a personal spat strikes me as utterly ridiculous.

It's the exact opposite of what the source article title says to. Just standard click bait garbage.

A number of acts all of which are not considered "workplace bullying" individually can when considered as a whole constitute "workplace bullying" is apparently the actual ruling. Which should be obvious since repetition is part of the usual bullying definition.

Chronical humiliation, or harassment is a thing. It is perhaps a "crime" worth recognizing because it just makes someone's life crappy for no good reason. It makes no sense to live in such prosperity and wealth and to have a crappy sad life.

The very notion that the courts are being called in to resolve a personal spat strikes me as utterly ridiculous.

It's because it involves employment. We've come up with the idea that employment is not personal and should involve everybody. If you want to abort a baby that's a private decision between you and your doctor, but if money changes hands and somebody is employed we all need to stick our noses into it to make sure everything is "fair."

So, when does unfriending someone constituted as "unreasonable behavior"?It is still ridiculous.

What's the difference between shredding documents due to paranoia, and shredding only one specific document which had evidence of illegal activity that the courts were after? One of them is a normal action, the other constitutes a crime.

As for your question, it becomes unreasonable behaviour when it is done as part of a repeated and systematic attack on a person for the sole reason of bullying and belittling. Nothing individually is unreasonable but all together it shows a pattern of behaviour and that patt

Even so, none of the examples of "belittling behavior" strike me as significant enough to involve the court system.

The behaviors were only some of them and though each individual one is not significant, combined that can make working hell. They may also lead to other employees treating her similarly. For example, if the boss stops acknowledging an employee's presence others may stop as well.

The very notion that the courts are being called in to resolve a personal spat strikes me as utterly ridiculous.

It is not the courts. It is the Fair Work Commission [fwc.gov.au], a body set up to deal with situations like this.

She could quit but that has unemployment benefits issues. Where I live if you quit you don't get any benefits.

Even so, none of the examples of "belittling behavior" strike me as significant enough to involve the court system.

None of the examples individually are. But together they make up an example of systemic bullying which has lead an employee to be brought to tears just for going to work. Do you think that's an acceptable employer / employee relationship?

Australia has very clearly defined workplace harassment and bullying laws that protect individual employees, and employees must prove that any case is systematic i.e. it needs to be repeated and done with specific intent against the will of a person.

You'll even need to constantly send them messages telling them what a great person they are. Failure to do so will constitute bullying as a lack of positive emotional support can be considered stressful.

So, unfriending someone is bullying, presumably not accepting a friend request in the first place is bullying, maybe not sending someone a friend request is bullying too? We are all bullies now.

Only in the Slashdot headline. The reality is that the Fair Work Tribunal has found a repeated pattern of bullying behaviour at one time even causing the employee to cry and that part of it was specific exclusion including but not at all limited to unfriending the person on Facebook over a workplace spat.

Although the summary is misleading, I think there are people very confused about the social aspect of social media. A Facebook friend is not necessarily a friend. Being unfriended does not mean you lost a friend.

And people wonder why I quit Facebook years ago. I can't wait until the place turns into a nest of libel lawsuit discovery in the next few years - my popcorn is ready.

That will only happen if you read the slashdot headline. The daily mail actually has this quote: "The Fair Work Commission didn't find that unfriending someone on Facebook constitutes workplace bullying" So yes Facebook is EVIL. EVIL I SAY!

"What the Fair Work Commission did find is that a pattern of unreasonable behaviour, hostile behaviour, belittling behaviour over about a two-year period, which featured a range of different behaviours including berating, excluding and so on, constituted a workplace bullying."

"What the Fair Work Commission did find is that a pattern of unreasonable behaviour, hostile behaviour, belittling behaviour over about a two-year period, which featured a range of different behaviours including berating, excluding and so on, constituted a workplace bullying."

First off, nobody said anything to the contrary.

Yes they did. See the headline and opening line of this very story. It's complete and utter bollocks, and contradicted entirely by the quotes from the article you've given above, but it still said it.

Honestly, some people. You've supposed to RTFS and not RTFA, not the other way around!

That's one reason why I thought that Google+'s circles was superior to the "Friends" label on Facebook. Sure, I can add my co-workers to the "Co-Workers" circle and show them only work-appropriate posts. Meanwhile, my friends can get the NSFW posts.

Of course, Google+ messed it up with their real name policy. My primary social media network is Twitter where I can use a pseudonym and not get my account revoked for not using my real name. (And yes, I'm aware that my Slashdot account uses my real name. Thi

"The Fair Work Commission didn't find that unfriending someone on Facebook constitutes workplace bullying," Josh Bornstein, a lawyer at the firm Maurice Blackburn, told ABC News."What the Fair Work Commission did find is that a pattern of unreasonable behaviour, hostile behaviour, belittling behaviour over about a two-year period, which featured a range of different behaviours including berating, excluding and so on, constituted a workplace bullying."

"What the Fair Work Commission did find is that a pattern of unreasonable behaviour, hostile behaviour, belittling behaviour over about a two-year period, which featured a range of different behaviours including berating, excluding and so on, constituted a workplace bullying."

"The Fair Work Commission didn't find that unfriending someone on Facebook constitutes workplace bullying," Josh Bornstein, a lawyer at the firm Maurice Blackburn, told ABC News.
Unfriending someone isn't workplace bullying, and shame on the poster for suggesting such a thing without even reading the article.

In my opinion, use of so-called 'social media' itself very often shows a lack of emotional maturity in the first place, and perhaps more than a little narcissism; it's all about look at me, look at me, look at me!

Furthermore, if 'unfriending' someone could be considered bullying, then sending someone a friend request could also be considered bullying, because you're putting that person on the spot to accept the request; the reciprocal of this would also be true: failure to graciously accept any and all

Some people are to stupid and much tor fragile to be let out of the house. What is next? Telling people it is illegal to end a friendship online? Whoever thinks such is reasonable really needs to get a life. And yes, I will unfriend any among my social networks who I find out think that this is reasonable. Life is too short to put up with nitwits.

I agree. Same here. But people with a sense of entitlement are jumping on the bandwagon, because, hey, media coverage, instant fame, power over other individuals. And the real issues get that much more polluted.

I don't know what you specifically went through, but bullying doesn't have to necessarily meet that standard to be bullying. I admit to feeling like there is a bit of over-sensitivity these days, but it is also true that people react to things differently and where you or I might need to be beaten up (for example) to feel bullied, some other person might be vulnerable through social interaction alone.

As an action in the midst of other attacks, an unfriending could certainly be a clear (to you), but deniabl

Any action that implies the loss of a relationship can have emotional meaning above and beyond the usual impact of such an action.

Yes, a loss of a relationship can mean feelings are hurt but are you honestly saying that I must be friends with everyone and I'm never allowed to terminate a relationship? Terminating a relationship, if that is all you do, is the opposite of bullying. Yes, it can hurt your feelings but so can not being invited to a party (still not bullying). Bullying is actively having a negative relationship with someone. Ignoring someone or having an indifferent relationship is not bullying even in the workplace.